| “ | Fry, you son of a bitch. | „ |
| ~ Zaeed right before killing Vido Santiago |
Zaeed Massani is one of the two DLC characters in Mass Effect 2. He is a feared bounty hunter who will do anything for money or revenge. He gets contacted by Cerberus to assist Commander Shepard in the mission to save mankind from the Collectors.
He was voiced by the late Robin Sachs.
Background[]
Zaeed and partner, Vido Santiago, headed the Blue Suns "private security firm". As it underwent development, the Suns started taking part in batarian slave trade, something Zaeed Massani disrecommended for the organization. Zaeed disagreed on the issue, and the rest decided to discuss their differences with a vote. The "vote" ended tragically for Zaeed, as he was shot point-blank at the face by Vido. Zaeed survived the gunshot wound, although over the following years, he got stressed and wasted on alcohol, his reputation and organization gone from his hands, and all he was thinking about was revenge on his ex-partner Vido.
To restore his glory and name, Zaeed took a job from the Shadow Broker: to crash the turian frigate Verrikan. Zaeed recruited three freelancers: the salarian Kendo Holin, the asari Tristana, and the ex-Blue Sun Jace Reyn. The mission went on well, as Zaeed and his three freelances infriltrated the turian frigate, fighting off the turian soldiers that were there. The asari Tristana came to rescue Zaeed, who was surrounded by a number of turian soldiers drawing guns at him. Tristana and Zaeed had a thing in the past, but Zaeed claimed he broke it off before it killed him. He then asked about Jace, but it appeared the payoff was now split fifty-fifty. With the job almost done, Zaeed set the Verrikan ship on a collision course. As he was about to embark off the ship, Tristana suddenly blasted Zaeed with biotics, revealing to be under Vido's employ.
Freeing himself from Tristana's biotic grasp, Zaeed managed to stab his ex-girlfriend while the ship itself was being fired upon by the garrison. A hole opened up on the hull, nearly sucking them both out. Zaeed took the opportunity to kick Tristana completely off the ship, luckily finding another object to grab before plummeting to the surface with her. Zaeed rushed to an escape pod and escaped the ship, in time to see from a distance the turian frigate Verrikan explode, describing it as a wonderful sight to see.
Mass Effect 2[]
Zaeed is contacted by Cerberus, for a job offer to take on the Collectors with Commander Shepard. Commander Shepard finds him on Omega, where he has tracked down a batarian fugitive of which he was hired by "someone rich enough to hire him". Zaeed greets Shepard and accepts the offer. He also asks Shepard in helping him take down Vido Santiago, whom Zaeed has tracked down on the planet Zorya. Zaeed hangs out at the Normandy SR2 cargo hold, bringing along some trophies and keepsakes: his favorite but battered M-8 Avenger "Jessie", a Blood Pack helmet, and the turian frigate model ship Verrikan.
When Shepard takes part in Zaeed's mission, Zaeed finally meets Vido Santiago after 20 years, at his base, where Vido taunts him. Zaeed then intentionally initiates a compressed gas fire which eventually spreads throughout the facility. Shepard can then choose to either put out the fires, thus saving innocent workers, or pursue Vido. If Shepard chooses to save the workers, Vido escapes with a gunship and curses Zaeed, telling him that he'll "see him again in another 20 years". Zaeed gets infuriated with Shepard. At this point, Shepard can convince Zaeed to work together as a team and to put his vengeance aside until the mission is complete, thereby securing his loyalty, but only with great difficulty. Otherwise, Zaeed's loyalty is not secured. If Shepard chose to pursue Vido directly without saving the workers, Zaeed corners an injured Vido. He ejects a thermal clip from his pistol into a pool of fuel that Vido is lying in. As the fuel ignites and burns Vido alive, Zaeed turns and walks away, his vengeance fully satisfied. If Shepard travels to Zorya after the suicide mission, is a Paragon, and has at least two more squadmembers left, then there will be an option to leave Zaeed to die when a metal beam collapses on him.
On the suicide mission, Zaeed will die or survive based on Shepard's decisions.
Mass Effect 3[]
Zaeed returns to fight the Reapers, provided he survived the suicide mission. Apparently, months after the Collector Base destruction, Cerberus once again contacted Zaeed for a job, but the negotiations went badly. Zaeed now sought to find jobs that hinder Cerberus' operations.
After Cerberus' attempted coup on the Citadel, C-Sec get a tip that the volus ambassador Din Vorlack was feeding information to Cerberus. Furthermore, the turians have set a bounty on Din after a turian cruiser was attacked by Cerberus. Zaeed, along with some bounty hunters locate and capture Din Vorlack, unaware that the volus ambassador already cut ties with Cerberus after their attack on the Citadel. Fortunately, Shepard is able to get a wind of this, and remotely gives Korlack information that causes Zaeed to realize he'd been duped. Zaeed kills the other bounty hunters, although he can die as a result if he was not loyal in Mass Effect 2. Din in turn gives information about a pending Cerberus attack on a turian colony, as well as the support of the volus bombing fleet.
Zaeed is later on found at the Citadel's Refugee Docks, where he offers his full support for the Reaper war. If Shepard converses with Zaeed further, the Commander can ask if he knows Darner Vosque, the Blue Suns' leader on the Citadel. Zaeed reveals how Vosque botched a mission when Zaeed was still getting half his squad killed in the process. Later on, Zaeed stocks up on his weapons and equipment, most noticeably purchasing rifle parts for a discontinued version of the Avenger series assault rifle, possibly to restore his beloved rifle, "Jessie".
During the final battle on Earth, Zaeed can be contacted by Shepard. Zaeed reveals that he almost thought Shepard wasn't going to make it, and was glad to be proven wrong. He hopes that the Commander has one "hell of a speech" prepared to get people moving as they'll need it based on what he's seen. Zaeed feels down-to-earth and ardent on the battle, though he admits that it doesn't feel like a real ground war when the enemies are taller than "goddamn skyscrapers". In the end, if Shepard uses the Crucible to Destroy the Reapers, Zaeed can be seen lounging on a tropical beach, with his beloved gun, "Jessie" besides him.
Mass Effect Andromeda[]
At some point, Zaeed may have fathered a son named Bain Massani, who grew up to become a private security contractor. Bain later on signed up with the Andromeda Initiative, which lead to a 600 year journey to the Andromeda Galaxy. Zaeed wasn't in Bain's life, as the only things Bain knew about him is that he named him and he's a "big-time mercenary".